SkyBlog

Oklahoma's quest for a fourth straight national title remains alive.

The No. 2 Sooners came from behind and bested fourth-seeded Florida 6-5 in eight innings to set up a date with No. 1 Texas in the best of three Women's College World Series finals.

Sooners utility player Ella Parker singled home the tying run in the bottom of the sixth to push things into extra innings.

TIED AT 5️⃣<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WCWS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WCWS</a> x 🎥 ESPN / <a href="https://twitter.com/OU_Softball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OU_Softball</a> <a href="https://t.co/aTEdK7GIDj">pic.twitter.com/aTEdK7GIDj</a>

Center fielder Jayda Coleman went opposite field in the eighth to punch Oklahoma's ticket in the finals.

OKLAHOMA WALKOFF HR TO ADVANCE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 🔥🔥🔥<br><br>Sooners want that FOUR-PEAT 🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WCWS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WCWS</a><br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NCAASoftball</a>)<a href="https://t.co/Z1IkchyvOt">pic.twitter.com/Z1IkchyvOt</a>

Here's the schedule for the next round:

2024 Women's College World Series Schedule

• Game 1: Wednesday, June 5 at 8 p.m. ET 
• Game 2: Thursday, June 6 at 8 p.m. ET 
• Game 3 (if necessary): Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET

Texas has been a class above in Oklahoma City so far. The Longhorns have yet to surrender a single run in the WCWS, winning their first three games by a combined score of 15-0. They put 10 past Florida.

Ashton Maloney is the only Texas starter with an OPS lower than 1.000. Reese Atwood, Mia Scott, Katie Stewart and Alyssa Washington all have double digits in homers. Longhorns hitters lead the country in batting average (.375) and are fourth in slugging percentage (.621).

Not to be outdone, Texas' pitching staff sports a 1.86 combined ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Citlaly Gutierrez and Teagan Kavan have 10 and nine complete games apiece.

It's tough to pick out a weakness within the Longhorns roster.

Self-belief won't be lacking in Oklahoma, though, because the Sooners already know they can beat Texas.

The reigning champions lost the regular-season series two games to one but got the better of Texas in the Big 12 title game. Kelly Maxwell and Nicole May combined to strike out 10 batters and allow one earned run on two hits in a 5-1 victory.

Oklahoma boasts three of the top 26 players in on-base percentage in Division I (Coleman, Parker and Kasidi Pickering). Tiare Jennings and Alyssa Brito provide the power, hitting 24 and 18 home runs respectively.

Something has to give in the finals in a series between two teams that have collectively lost 15 times all season.

Texas and Oklahoma rank second and third in runs scored, with each averaging just under eight per contest. On the other side, the Sooners and Longhorns are second and fourth in total shutouts.

From the moment the WCWS bracket came together, this is the matchup most wanted to see when the national championship was ultimately up for grabs.

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